In Brazil, 120 million people declare themselves as having black or brown skin. The current brazilian population is the result of a mix between several waves of imigration from multiple countries added to a past history of slaves coming from Africa. Combine all these elements and you’ll end up having a population with a huge variety of skin tones.

But when it comes to school activities, when kids have to draw themselves, the reality is different. Historically, the pink colour pencil has been called skin colour pencil. So, it was not unusual to see kids with black or brown skin drawing themselves and their friends and colouring it in pink. It was time to change this. So Faber-Castell, the biggest brand for pens and pencils in Brazil created a new line of skin tone colour pencils and made it available in the whole country.

Faber-Castell is the market leader in Brazil for pencils, pens and all related products used by kids at schooll. So, with a history of so many years as part of this scenario, Faber-Castell felt the brand had the right credentials to make a move and help the society to deal with topics like racism and ethnic representation. Targeting kids from 6-12 years-old and their moms (30/45 years-old), Faber-Castell launched a new set of colour pencils with a new variety of skin tones that, when mixed, could reproduce an even bigger variety of skin tones.

- The product is already in the Market, all over Brazil

• more than 20 million packs sold in the first six months

• More than 20.500.000 spontaneous comments on social media

• 99% of positive comments online

• A new way to fight racism

With its new line of colour pencils “Caras e Cores” (Faces and Colours), Faber-Castell introduced six new colours of skin tones that, when mixed, can reproduce an even bigger variety of skin tones. The new products were launched in a double-tip/double-end pencil format. Every pencil has two different colours, with a different tip at every end. By chosing to launch the product this format, the brand reduced the size of the packaging with all the advantages that it brought to the whole producion process. The advertising campaign to launch the product had, at its core, a creative twist on the most traditional asset that the brand used for years in his communication: a famous Brazilian song. Generations of our target moms grew up listening to this song and immediately associate it with the brand. So by giving an update to its lyrics, Faber-Castell showed consumers that new times are coming.

• more than 20 million packs sold in the first six months

• More than 20.500.000 spontaneous comments on social media

• 99% of positive comments online

• A new way to fight racism